We interrupt our regular programming to celebrate Mothers' Day, which in my kitchen is synonymous with sugar cookies. Three hundred and fifty sugar cookies, decorated by friends in my kitchen, and donated here in Rhode Island to a shelter for homeless women, a residential program for pregnant and postpartum women with addiction issues, and six emergency shelters for women and children who are victims of domestic abuse.

Please share these cookies with someone you love, courtesy of Drop In & Decorate™ and The Perfect Pantry.

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a couple of baking sheets with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. In another large bowl or the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar, until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla, and continue to beat until well blended and smooth. Beat flour mixture into the butter mixture until smooth.

Divide dough in half. Place one half on a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper; cover with another sheet and roll to 1/4 inch. Repeat with second half of dough. [Note: this method ensures you will not add extra flour to the dough in the rolling-out process.]

Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes, or up to two days (or, if making far in advance, you can freeze at this point. Wrap sheets tightly in plastic wrap). Remove one sheet from the refrigerator; peel off the top wax paper, then replace paper and invert dough. Peel off and discard what is now the top sheet of paper, and cut out the cookies. (Cookies will spread, so do not place too close together on the baking sheet). Re-roll scraps, refrigerating if necessary to firm the dough.

Bake for 6-9 minutes, or until just lightly colored on top and slightly darker at the edges. Rotate sheets halfway through for even browning. Remove pans from oven and let cookies cool 2-3 minutes. Then remove cookies to a rack and let cool completely. (At this point, the cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks, in layers separated by parchment or wax paper.)

After the cookies are completely cooled, decorate with Royal Icing. Place the decorated cookies on a tray and leave out overnight, uncovered, to harden. The next morning, package in food-safe cellophane bags or cookie tins.

Julia, Maris: so glad you could come for the decorating. It's always such fun!

Kalyn, it's not supposed to be me, though I think it's adorable. Mine would need grey hair -- not the prettiest color for a cookie!

Shannan, we take a lot of pride in our cookies and everyone who comes to decorate really puts care and creativity into each one.

Bridget, a few years ago I bought a baker's sheet pan rack at a restaurant supply store. It holds 20 full size sheet pans (the ones that are too large to fit into my home oven), and each pan holds 20 cookies. The rack has saved my life on more than one occasion -- I can't imagine how we could store the cookies overnight without it.

What an honorable cause for making cookies, and i must say they turned out wonderful. I'll be giving this recipe a try. I use Martha's sugar cookie recipe and we dont' love it. My son won't even eat them..but then again he is a picky little guy.

Aimee, the secret to our sugar cookies is not to roll them out in flour, which makes them more dry. Use the parchment paper method described in the recipe; the cookies stay more buttery, which makes them irresistible.

Wow! Those are adorable, and judging by the title, definitely worth a taste. And what a wonderful cause for baking them. I can't wait to give them a try, and hope that they turn out as beautiful as yours :)

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Welcome to The Perfect Pantry®

My name is Lydia Walshin. From my tiny kitchen in Boston's South End, I share recipes that use what we keep in our pantries, the usual and not-so-usual ingredients that spice up our lives. Thanks so much for visiting.